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The Kiwi Sperm

The drawing of a sperm is the best way to explain the economic distribution of the New Zealand population. The fat body represents the bulk of the population, while the tail of the sperm represents the richest. The kiwis earn relatively less compared to other first world countries such as USA, England, Australia, but have the advantage of the majority of the population belonging to the same social class, with an income of around NZ$25000 to NZ$30000 per year. It seems like a socialism that worked, although it is a full democracy.

 Poverty does not exist and the rich are not that much richer than the rest. Of course there are the very rich, who have developed very successful businesses or have inherited a great fortune, they would be located at the very tip of the tail of the sperm, but even their wealth would not come close to the wealth of the rich in countries such as USA, Australia, and even third world countries such as Brazil.

The reason for this can possibly be explained by the size of the population, which restricts the currency on circulation. For example even if a company was to sell a certain product with NZ$10 of profit to the whole of the population of NZ (including children and elderly), the most profit which this company could earn would be 40 million. Therefore if a company or individual wants to earn a lot of money they may need to seek it externally.

Although the income tax being at a high level, it is not as high as Australia, Scandinavia, and other countries. New Zealand tax accordingly to your income, taxing less for those who earn less, and more for those who earn more. A big part of the tax collected goes towards making sure those who are in need such as the unemployed, or families with many children who are not able to make ends meet, get government help. The government also provides free emergency medical assistance to everyone, doctor appointment are subsidised for those with difficulties including with the purchase of medicines and treatments. New Zealand was considered as an example of how to administer social security; however it is recently facing an ever ageing population, with its population living longer, adding to more costs and less revenue. This has led to government cuts in some benefits and also a increase in bureaucracy and control.  But you still have to take your hat off for them.

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